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GLOCALITY Davos Days
Find 2,000 of the finest minds from all over the world--corporate leaders, politicians, philosophers, academics, artists, authors, musicians, scientists, Nobel laureates, spiritual leaders, media barons--and huddle them in a compact venue of a dozen meeting-halls, an equal number of informal lounges, several discussions-situations like staircases, 2-to-4 chair-corners, e-mail kiosks et al--and what do you get? A mind-boggling annual opportunity to generate ideas, thoughts, feelings, and relationships of a calibre and volume that is unmatched in any other part of our planet. The Davos experience is impossible to narrate with any sense of completeness--there are over 500 sessions in those 6 days--and the best that anyone can manage to attend is about 50. But then, Davos is not to be written about; it is to be experienced as I have for the last 2 years. Yet, I will try to describe it as I lived it as a participant this year. Not with the intent of doing justice to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, but to provide a mere flavour of this global event in the last year of the 20th Century. UNCERTAINTY If I were to choose one word to describe the common thread that ran through all the subjects that were discussed at Davos this year, it would be uncertainty. Take, for instance, the theme, Responsible Globality: Managing The Impact Of Globalisation. It is obvious that the inevitable process of globalisation, which has been welcomed with open arms by every nation, has brought with it unexpected consequences that are being seen as painful. As the theme suggests, there are dimensions of responsibility that have not received their due attention.
Similarly, uncertainty marked the conclusions in almost every session on technology, whether it was e-commerce or nano-technology, telecom or the digital economy. Take the nascent, yet exploding, domain of Net telephony, which is hitting at the very foundations of the telecom industry. While the economics of virtually-free telephony could have devastating effects on the traditional system, governments are struggling to comprehend the basic issues concerning the regulation and control of this phenomenon. Or take a fascinating conversation on the future of personal computing. While leading technologists agreed on the point that PCs are not personal enough, and should be far more personalisable, there was little clarity on what shape this would take. The closest we reached was to agree that the PC should attempt to work more and more like the human mind. But how much do we really know about the mind? Nowhere was uncertainty more vividly present than in the discussions on economics and the state of the world economy. While Brazil's recent shocks have embarrassed the International Monetary Fund yet again, there was little to explain why the American stockmarkets behaved so erratically for a brief period last year, dropping to devastating lows before bouncing back to heady highs. China appears to be heading for a period of some uncertainty while Japan is bracing for a difficult year ahead. But reassurance came from a strong America, which is predicting no budget deficits for the next 15 years. What engaged many minds was the uncertainty about the outcomes of genetic research. The ethical dilemmas of how to handle the rapidly-developing ability of scientists to complete the map of the human genome, and perfect cloning techniques were subjects of many fascinating and passionate discussions. Of course, the multitude of sessions on the Net and the digital economy went to packed houses. There was happy amazement at the astronomical market valuations of Net stocks. Or take the example of a Net company that sells you dollars at 70 cents to the US dollar. While most people shook their heads in disbelief, there was some cogent reasoning by the Net folks as well as insightful academics about the future value being created by these innovative entrepreneurs, who are changing the very basis of the economics of trade. For instance, by selling a dollar for 70 cents, the company obtains, in return, substantial information about that customer as well as his permission to receive an agreed number of highly-focused advertisements, thereby creating value for other companies wanting to obtain that information--at a price that leaves it a profit-margin.
The tingling sensation was one of very great changes about to happen. Of megashifts taking shape. Almost as though the world is gearing itself for a transformation as we enter the New Millennium. INSIGHTS, FEELINGS Csikszentmihalyi's research on Flow--the state of mind when creative juices flow freely--provided a lucid understanding of the states of the mind. Many other discussions on creativity and innovation opened up new avenues for thinking. Takeuchi's articulation of explicit and tacit knowledge, and the wide range of discussions on knowledge capital and the Experience Economy provided building-blocks to create a foundation of understanding of the Knowledge Economy. Warren Bennis shared the outcomes of his last 2 decades of research on leadership. He spoke of post-bureaucratic leadership styles. Where leaders understand the power of appreciation, where they are connoisseurs of talent, where they are more curators than creators. He spoke about the leaders and the led as being intimate allies, and narrated stories about leadership groups. There was an almost spiritual description of the styles of successful leaders of today. A memorable quote: "Each of us is an angel with one wing. We can fly only if we embrace each other."
Then, there was the stunning clarity that the linguistics expert, Deborah Tannen, brought to the domain of gender differences in inter-personal communications. The celebrated author of You Just Don't Understand, she shared the contents of her new book, The Argument Culture. The essential line of thought in this work is that, in Western civilisation, the dominant metaphor is one of battle. That is, adversarial relationships. With the passage of time, relationships have become more and more adversarial, and we now value aggressiveness over healthy compromise. She made a neat distinction between making an argument and having an argument, with society helplessly regressing towards the latter, pointing to a possible solution in the Eastern culture of oneness, the Yin and the Yang, and Indian thought. Then there was the energetic Percy Barnevik, whose presence loomed large over the World Economic Forum like that of our own Indian hero, Rahul Bajaj. Barnevik delineated with crisp simplicity the guiding principles and good practices of corporate governance. Nothing being said for the first time, but an excellent, simple, lucid reminder of what constitutes good corporate governance. As these discussions proceeded, interesting and, sometimes, utterly unexpected perspectives opened up because of the diversity of backgrounds of the participants. In a session on the information revolution, for instance, there were people from Mauritius, Africa, US, Sweden, Greece, India, China, and Japan--and an equal number of other countries. It was amazing to note a common hurdle to the spread of computerisation across these diverse societies: the lack of computer literacy at the top-most levels in most organisations. While the brain gets excited by new thoughts, it is more fun to sense the heart getting warmed up with new feelings. Yehudi Menuhin spoke gently, but with great clarity and utmost sweetness. Among his jewels: "We do not create enough opportunities to retreat into silence. We do need silence to retain sanity." There was also Benjamin Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, who moved over 500 people when he got them to sing with their hearts. He also taught us a lesson when he talked about one great trait of a leader as displayed by the orchestra conductor: getting things done without ever uttering a single word. The Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho, who wrote The Alchemist, left a deep impression on every heart with his gentle words. To him, each one of us is born an artist--singer, painter, writer. Yet, how many of us let this artist rise? FRIENDSHIPS
Before I first visited Davos in 1998, I had heard that it was a place where the main thing that happened was networking amongst the participants. While that isn't exactly untrue, I saw an interesting phenomenon this time. When everyone is, literally, packed in, there is a strong code of respecting privacy. Relationships cannot be imposed, but can only be earned. And the singular basis to earn a friendship is the power of one's ideas and thoughts. I remembered the old saying, Language Most Shows A Man; Speak That I May See Thee. The ideas, thoughts, and feelings that your natural behaviour and interactions generate is the only basis of forming relationships. And this, I found, resulted in some excellent friendships that I have built. Not to be leveraged and exploited, but only to be strengthened. Few other fora provide the unencumbered access to fascinating people that Davos does. From prime ministers to chairmen of the Fortune 500 to legendary Nobel laureates to famous thinkers, philosophers, authors, artists, and journalists. Stripped of their usual layers of bureaucracy, aides, and security staff, each of them is face-to-face with you as another human being on an equal footing. And that sets the foundation for a levelled meeting of minds. Uninhibited, free, relaxed. And each of my 100, or more, meaningful one-to-one conversations is still vivid in my mind. INDIA INC. @ DAVOS Most relaxing was the time the Indian team spent together, late every night. After 16 hours of gruelling work, from breakfast discussion sessions starting at 7 a.m. till the dinner-meetings ending at 11 p.m.--sometimes followed by night-cap discussions till midnight--the Indian group of about 20, including some spouses, would get together to chat, catch up with each other's experiences of the day, and compare notes. Or to just make interesting conversation and have a great time together. Mostly with Bajaj as the leader, taking us from one meeting-place to another, and, finally, to the Piano Bar at the favourite hotel of the group, the Central Sportshotel. Where all the staff members love India and the Indians who come back to Davos, year after year. Besides these most enjoyable nights, there were many sessions where our members made their mark. P. Chidambaram charmed them all with his exceptional articulation of ideas. Chandrababu Naidu left behind admirers who were touched by his sincerity and clarity of purpose. Yashwant Sinha could spend little time, but was forthright and effective in projecting India's stand and policies on globalisation. Many of us were speakers on various panels, and all of us asked many, many tough questions--as all Indians do! The India Reception was a high point--a jam-packed hall where guests came in numbers beyond our expectations. And all of us, under the careful eyes of our `shepherd,' Tarun Das, were at our very best, playing hosts to dignitaries of all nationalities. FUN Davos is not just about hard work and intellectual stuff. There is a beautiful blend of fun and play as well. The Country Reception hosted by Australia this year showed an interesting cultural perspective while serving great cuisine. The high point on Saturday night was the soiree, an extravaganza of music, food, and cultures. A 100-piece orchestra, a full layout of Mauritius; music and food of great taste; a Russian group playing music to encouragement by their Prime Minister, Y. Primakov; a jazz band with loyal fans in bliss; and a crowded corner with a band playing the Oldies. And everyone in a relaxed mood, renewing eye-contact as they moved from one hall to the other. At the Sunday morning sports, some went skiing, others on a horse-sleigh ride, and still others played snow sports. A few just lazed around with friends. This year, I spent the morning chatting with an old friend from my IIT days, McKinsey's Rajat Gupta. On Tuesday, the lunch at the Schatzalp, up in the mountain, where you travel by the almost-vertical train! Breathtaking views, outstanding food, and the beginning of the good-byes as you start winding down the pace of the 6-day odyssey. And, finally, the concert by the talented singer Noa of Israel. Made ever so meaningful by the fact that she had invited a young Palestinian singer, Rim Banna from Nazareth in enemy country. And they both sang--would you believe it--Can Two Become One? BACK TO EARTH It is futile to attempt summarising such an extraordinary experience. But I must admit that I really enjoyed reliving it as I wrote this piece. |
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For the CEO who missed the ultimate showcase
of the world's finest intellectual capital, BT presents a virtual visit to the 1999 Annual
Summit of the World Economic Forum at Davos. Through the eyes of R.S. Pawar, CEO, NIIT.
Finally, the political scenario being painted at some sessions threw
up uncertainty as well as paradoxes. Few could explain fully, although there were many
convincing arguments, why Clinton's popularity increases as his moral ratings fall. It is
important to state that these exhilarating conversations pointed at uncertainty--not
confusion. As sharp minds engaged in brilliant dialogue, people did take positions and
make predictions, tempered by probability and confidence-levels. 
David Putnam, famous for his film, Chariots Of Fire, gave a stirring
description of the state of the home, and the erosion of so many traditions, practices,
and little things that have gradually evaporated from the home of the past. He provided
easy explanations for the social evils that are all-pervasive today. 